Restore Titanic Memorial Lighthouse
DONOR UPDATE
Your generous gifts have now funded an Investigative Conditions Assessment, the first step in the restoration of this important and beloved structure—the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse.
A qualified expert assessor working under the direction of the Seaport Museum will assess existing conditions, damage and structural problems of the interior/exterior and recommend a restoration program per the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
PHASE 1 : RESTORATION
Our fundraising campaign continues with its goal: to fully restore this forgotten treasure and create a new National Historic Landmark to honor the 1,496 passengers and crew who perished when RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912.
In a unanimous 46-0 vote, Community Board 1 approved an immediate in-situ restoration of Titanic Memorial Lighthouse.
We invite individual donors, benefactors and corporate sponsors to join our project.
MISSION & VISION
• Restore TML to its 100% original working condition
• Record and remember the 1,496 victims of the tragedy
• Recognize a National Historic Landmark
• Create a top-10 NYC tourist attraction
• Financially assist the Seaport Museum
• Create a ‘Beacon of Hope’ for youth, immigrants & visitors alike
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
Titanic Memorial Lighthouse was the world's first monument erected to the victims, unveiled exactly one year after the tragedy.
Designed by Warren & Wetmore—architects of Grand Central Terminal—its Flemish style in tribute to the Dutch port of New Amsterdam, the lighthouse comprised a stonework pedestal and lantern, topped with a domed copper roof. A small door at the base of its rear opened to internal stairs rising to the lantern which shone through three rows of rectangular windows.
An external viewing gallery with railings cantilevered out from the sides of the pedestal. A pole extended up from a cylindrical cupola which held the 'time-ball.'
This time ball dropped daily at noon for captains to set their ship’s chronometers allowing for safe and accurate navigation. In a pre-quartz, pre-digital era, it’s how New Yorkers kept time!
The lighthouse stood atop the roof of the new 12-storey Seamen's Church Institute at 25 South Street from 1913-1968 as an active lighthouse for the Port of the City of New York.
RESTORATION
In 1969 the SCI building was demolished and the light-tower gifted to the South Street Seaport Museum. It currently resides in the Historic Seaport District in urgent need of restoration.
SUPPORTERS
Though lighthouses are by design ‘land marks’ the Titanic Lighthouse is not listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In this, support comes from Congressman Jerrold Nadler, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and District 1 (Seaport) Councillor Margaret Chin.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Your gifts (less GoFundMe fees and costs) will support the restoration of Titanic Memorial Lighthouse to its 100% original condition.
All donors become part of this historic restoration project and are so recorded in the Honor Roll.
ABOUT US
Friends of Titanic Lighthouse Restoration (FOTLR ) are a nonprofit group dedicated to saving the world's first Titanic memorial. Its supporters are descendants of passengers and crew aboard the Titanic including our Honorary Chair, Helen Benziger, great-granddaughter of the 'Unsinkable’ Margaret Tobin Brown.
With its restored 1913 features, the ‘time ball’ will be the only working one in the US; its green lantern will be the only working lighthouse in Manhattan; the names of the passengers and crew who perished will at last be recorded.
Please join us in saving this important national maritime landmark.
Thank you.
(Legal Notice: Gifts are not currently tax deductible as FOTLR is not a 501(c)3 charity organization).
LINKS & CREDITS
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Memorial 3D rendering courtesy Vasilije Ristović.
© 2022 Friends of Titanic Lighthouse Restoration. PO Box 62, New York, NY 10272.
